CDK kept two more large clients in its fold, announcing multi-year renewals of its agreements with Fred Beans Automotive Group and Tasca Automotive Group.

The dealership software provider said both groups will use the CDK Dealership Xperience, an open and integrated platform designed to connect the consumer-to-dealer buying journey into a single transaction.

Fred Beans, a family-owned business that operates 30 dealerships in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, will also continue to use CDK Parts Delivery Management, a system that tracks customer parts orders from sale to delivery, as the core of its parts warehouse and distribution center.

CDK said Fred Beans has been a customer for nearly 13 years.

“We pride ourselves in offering a convenient buying and service experience for our customers in the tri-state area,” Fred Beans Automotive Group founder and CEO Fred Beans said. “Over the past decade, CDK has proven to be a reliable partner that understands the needs of our retail and wholesale businesses.

“They incorporate our feedback into their products, help us scale our business as we continue to grow and routinely deliver solutions that help our teams sell and service more vehicles.”

CDK president and CEO Brian MacDonald called Fred Beans a great partner to his company.

“We’ve enjoyed working side-by-side with them to innovate solutions to help them operate and grow their retail and wholesale businesses,” he said. “By renewing into a unified platform like the CDK Dealership Xperience, all dealerships within the group will benefit from simplified workflows and built-in AI analytics and reporting. We will continue to listen and deliver solutions to meet the needs of their employees and customers.”

Tasca Automotive Group is a fourth-generation family-owned and operated dealer group that operates 29 dealerships in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, as well as a wholesale parts business. It was founded in 1943 by Bob Tasca Sr.

CDK said Tasca, which has been a customer for 30 years, will also be using CDK’s customer relationship management software to help maintain the group’s relationships with its “generations of loyal customers.”

“Tasca Automotive Group has a long history of honesty, integrity and customer satisfaction, and for decades, CDK has proven to hold themselves to a similar standard,” said Bob Tasca III, vice president of Tasca Automotive, grandson of the founder and owner of the NHRA’s Tasca Racing team. “As our industry and consumer expectations continue to evolve, we value CDK solutions and have confidence its investments in innovation will keep us on the cutting edge of managing our operations and serving our customers how they want and where they want.”

Since the ransomware attack that shut down its software for two weeks last summer, disrupting its dealerships’ operations, CDK has now renewed its deals with six major North American dealership groups.

CDK software is currently used by the majority of franchise dealerships in North America, the company said, including five of the six publicly held dealership groups in the U.S and the only publicly held dealership group in Canada.

Walser to open new Mitsubishi store in Minneapolis area

Mitsubishi Motors’ big initiative has attracted a new franchisee.

The automaker announced Walser Automotive Group has been named its latest dealer partner and will open Walser Mitsubishi in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville, Minn., in April.

The Bloomington, Minn.-based dealership group, founded in 1954, operates 35 locations in Minnesota and Kansas. The new store will be its first Mitsubishi dealership.

“We’re excited to bring Mitsubishi Motors to the Burnsville community as we continue our mission to provide an effortless customer experience and a better way to buy a car,” CEO Andrew Walser said. “Mitsubishi’s focus on innovation, technology and great service aligns with Walser’s commitment to building strong relationships in the communities we serve and delivering a more seamless car buying and ownership experience.”

Mitsubishi Motors North America said the addition of Walser illustrates increased dealer interest in the brand resulting from its Momentum 2030 long-range U.S. business plan.

The initiative promises new and revised vehicles launched annually through 2030 and beyond, as well as investments in digital processes designed to make it easier for customers to shop for new vehicles, updated retail facility designs to expand the brand’s reach and maximize customer satisfaction, and an objective to open new dealerships in previously untapped markets.

“With the unveiling of our comprehensive and far-reaching Momentum 2030 business plan, we knew Mitsubishi Motors was going to turn heads,” MMNA president and CEO Mark Chaffin said. “Since the launch of Momentum 2030, we’ve been encouraged by how strong the response across the automotive retail industry has been.

“Walser Automotive brings an impressive level of commitment to customer satisfaction, exactly what the next generation of Mitsubishi Motors in the U.S. needs to catapult our business forward.”